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This review first appeared in the December 2010 issue of hi-end hifi magazine High Fidelity of Poland. You can also read thisreview of the Pro Audio Bono platforms in its original Polish version. We publish its English translation in a mutual syndication arrangement with publisher Wojciech Pacula. As is customary for our own reviews, the writer's signature at review's end shows an e-mail address should you have questions or wish to send feedback. All images contained in this review are the property of High Fidelity or Pro Audio Bono- Ed.

"PAB anti-vibration platforms are used for supporting audio and/or video components to isolate them from external vibration and minimize resonances resulting from the imposition of external factors on the intrinsic self vibration of electronic devices. The very good anti-resonance characteristics of our platforms derive from the way by which the shelf the equipment is placed on is suspended. This suspension encounters only minimal contact with the environment (the shelf is suspended on four cables passing through four pulleys, then being anchored by tension mechanisms). However we also found that there are some other contributors that have a positive impact on performance:

Materials for the construction of the shelves and plinths (mostly birch and alder plywood covered with natural veneers; to a lesser extent MDF and particle board with synthetic veneer);

Materials for the mechanisms that keep the shelf horizontally suspended above the plinth (brass, non-magnetic steel, nylon and rubber);

Tensioners which allow leveling the shelf and position it at a specific height (note, the platforms supplied to the users have the shelves leveled at the lowest possible height, however the muffs for the tensors have a length of a few centimetres which allows one to raise the shelf significantly and adjust the sonic capabilities of the platform to the equipment and personal taste)."

This is all true. I met with Mr. Władysław Skrzypczak some time ago when he delivered a platform to be tested in Audio (that review appeared in the 9/2010 issue). Because I also tested other platforms at the same time including the very expensive Harmonix RS15-ANV supported by the TU-666ZX feet as reference, I had opportunity to compare different solutions and philosophies behind such products. Two of those seemed very similar – Pro Audio Bono and String Suspension Concept Base Classic. As it turned out, this was no coincidence. After talking to Mr. Władysław I learned that the SSC solution gave him the impulse to work out his own. After longer exposure to both I must say that the Polish one seems better conceived, has superior craftsmanship and is just plain better. The SSC was very good and is a simple yet very effective idea yet I chose the PAB for myself.

The PAB platforms are based on decoupling two shelves – the top one on which we place the audio device; and the lower plinth to which the upper one is mounted. Important is that both are mechanically decoupled by means of nylon strings from which the upper platform is suspended. This idea is well known from turntables, most notably the SME 20 and SME30 models from SME Limited. In their construction we also have two platforms but their decoupling occurs by means of rubber rings. The idea behind their mounting is identical to PAB. Some form of pillars or metal pipes attached to the plinths protrude by a few centimeters above the surface of the top shelf with which they have no contact. On top of the pillars SME uses strings and PAB strings to which the support shelf is fitted. That’s it. In the Polish platforms it's a bit more complicated but not by much.